Regular readers know that we often recommend substituting whole grain Buzz Savories Honey Mustard or Spicy Beer Mustard in recipes that call for Dijon, but we thought the topic deserved a deeper exploration.

While Dijon and whole grain mustards have a similar taste profile, they have distinctly different textures. Whole grain mustard is made with whole and lightly ground mustard seeds while the seeds used to make Dijon have usually been thoroughly ground. Mustards like Buzz Savories’ have a chunky consistency that puts the seeds up front.

Whole grain mustard and Dijon have conspicuously different histories as well. Dijon mustard comes from Dijon in France (it must, in order to be marketed as “Dijon”) and was first made in the 18th century by Auguste Poupon and Maurice Grey. Whole grain mustard, on the other hand, appears to be an American invention (and a relatively recent one), with early mentions dating back only to the 1970s and ‘80s.

Contrary to what you might presume, whole grain mustard is somewhat milder in flavor than Dijon. The mildness comes from the fact that the mustard seeds are unground. When mustard seeds are ground, they create a compound called allyl isothiocyanate which in turn creates the heat and pungency we associate with Dijon mustard. If consistency is important in your recipe, but you want a milder flavor, give the whole grain mustard a spin in your food processor or blender before use

Buzz Savories whole grain mustards work great as a substitute for Dijon mustard if you want a milder condiment or one with a more distinctive mouthfeel. You can use whole grain mustard just like you would use any other mustard as long as you like the mild flavor and chunky mouthfeel. Its appearance makes it a visually dramatic addition to cheese boards and charcuterie platters. It can also be enjoyed in a vinaigrette.

Go beyond Dijon. Do some experimenting with Buzz Savories Honey Mustard and Spicy Beer Mustard to add some interesting new tastes to your menu.

Not everyone does, but I like sharp, distinctive tastes — the tang of a cornichon or green olive, a corner of horseradish, spicy salsa, a jolt of straight alcohol, or the sinus-cleansing snap of a dollop of sturdy mustard.

We don’t sell pickles, olives, horseradish or, for that matter, alcohol, so this week we’re going to suggest three ways to use Buzz Savories Honey Mustard and Spicy Beer Mustard that perhaps you haven’t considered.

Mix it with butter. Although cream cheese may be your first thought to go with smoked salmon on a bagel or toasted baguette, a zesty alternative is to mix a stick of butter with 2 tablespoons of either Honey Mustard or Spicy Beer Mustard. Our mustards are dense and grainy and when mixed with butter, a little fresh dill and lemon zest, make the perfect bed for a savory slice of smoked salmon.

Make a vinaigrette. A mustard dressing is a classic on tender greens, but it’s also delicious with sweet roasted parsnips and turnips or a zippy coleslaw. To make a rich mustard dressing without much oil, bake it first. Here’s how. Heat the oven to 325° and line a baking sheet with foil. Spread Dijon on the baking sheet about a quarter-inch thick and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until a crust forms on the surface and the mustard feels slightly firm.

In a blender, combine the baked mustard with lemon juice, vinegar and capers, and blend until smooth. With the blender on, drizzle in olive oil or canola oil until thick. Finishing trick: transfer the dressing to a jar; stir in a generous dollop of Buzz Savories Spicy Beer or Honey Mustard, season with salt and serve.

Make a creamy mustard sauce for pasta. Try this when you’re weary of marinara. Cook and drain the pasta and set aside. Brown Italian sausage with olive oil, then add a glass of dry white wine and simmer until reduced by half, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Add heavy cream and about three tablespoons of Buzz Savories Spicy Beer or Honey Mustard and simmer for a couple more minutes. Remove from heat, add the pasta and a generous amount of fresh basil, and serve immediately. Yum.

Although I know it’s probably not the healthiest cuisine, I am a real fan of cured meats and exotic cheeses and a variety of tastes ranging from creamy brie to sharp olives or baby dill pickles, to fruits, nuts and berries. I really like a charcuterie board. And between ourselves, I don’t feel like you should have to wait until you’re planning a party to make one.

Traditionally, charcuterie is the art of preparing and assembling cured and other meat products with an assortment of different accompaniments, such as crackers, fruit, cheese, and…sauces.

Now, specifically what sauces you include on your board depends on what kind of meat and other ingredients you’re serving, but when I’m preparing a board with meats like salami, prosciutto and pepperoni and a few bold, flavorful cheeses with cracker or toast points, I always include small bowls of Buzz Savories Honey Mustard and Spicy Beer Mustard. If I have goat cheese or bleu cheese on the board, I also include a bowl of Buzz Savories Artisanal Honey, which pairs nicely with many cheeses.

The point is you can make a charcuterie board be an appetizer platter for 20 or dinner for two. We often build a board with hummus and pita and a few vegetables like carrots and red bell pepper, add what cheese we have on hand, some olives, and some grapes or a sliced apple. Dinner on those nights is kind of like going to a party.

Here are a few other elements you might want to consider.

• Choose your favorites, of course, but good cheeses to include are brie, smoked gouda, blue cheese and Pecorino Romano. A block of cream cheese with spicy jelly on top is also a nice touch.
• Fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme add color and a pleasant smell.
• Add finger fruits like raspberries, blueberries and grapes. Dried apricots and other dried fruits are also always appreciated.
• For savory tastes, a variety of marinated olives and artichoke hearts work well.
• Finish it off with a few different varieties of crackers or pita points or crostini.

Looking for something fun and creative for a party or tonight’s dinner? Build a charcuterie board.

I don’t have anything against sugar, but I love the earthy sweetness honey imparts — not only in hot drinks, smoothies, and baked goods but on a whole variety of dishes you may not have considered before. So, when confronting a recipe that calls for a sweetener, I often ask myself, “Why not honey instead?”

Substituting honey for sugar is fairly simple, but there are a few general rules you should know.

• Up to one cup, honey can be substituted for sugar in equal amounts. For example, you can substitute 1/2 cup of honey for 1/2 cup of sugar called for in a recipe. Over one cup, use about 2/3-3/4 cup of honey for every cup of sugar. This is because honey is actually sweeter than sugar.
• Honey is a liquid, so you’ll need to reduce the liquid in the recipe a little. Do this at a rate of 1/4 cup less liquid for every cup of honey used in the recipe.
• Honey is also a little acidic. To counteract this, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of honey used.
• Honey causes baked goods to brown more quickly, so reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F and watch carefully as the time gets close.

Here are a few places where you may find Buzz Savories artisanal honey to be an ideal addition or replacement in your recipes.

Pair it with goat cheese. If you haven’t tried this flavor combination you’re missing out. Use honey in a salad with goat cheese crumbles, or drizzle it straight onto a slice of cheese on a charcuterie board.

Glaze some pretzels. Coat some plain pretzels with honey and leave them in the refrigerator overnight to set. Adding a bit of salt at the end gives them a delightful sweet/salty flavor.

Coat your roast. Glazed meat is an ages-old tradition. Try experimenting with honey to create a glaze that will take this cooking technique to the next level. Honey and lime make a super fresh glaze, whereas pairing it with soy sauce gives almost any meat an Asian twist.

Bake it into a loaf. Honey can be substituted 1:1 in a wide variety of baked goods from muffins to cakes to breads. A little bit of experimentation might lead you to some delightful new discoveries.

Drizzle some on fruits and berries. A little honey instead of sugar on a bowl of raspberries or strawberries — especially with a little cream — creates a whole new complexity of flavor.

Faith to move mountains notwithstanding, what do mustard seeds say? Today, mustard seeds speak to me in urgent voices, saying, “Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well.” I heard this home-spun philosophy frequently as a child, and today, when my mind turns to project #2 as I’m still in the completion phase of project #1, I’m reminded of my tendency to sometimes slide into the final innings of a project and the “worth doing well” part escapes me.

Since 2018, my business, Buzz Savories, blends, processes, packs and markets Spicy Beer Mustard and Buzz Savories Honey Mustard.  Here’s what I’ve learned. Every incremental step of every task related to making mustard matters and requires 100% attention on my part. The FDA cares about safety; customers care about the flavor of the mustard and quality of the packaging; the mustard complains when I disregard the specific requirements of blending, packing and processing a quality product.

Packing mustard demands focus and the important last task – sealing the jars can trip me up unless I manage the details perfectly.

My check list:

• Weigh every jar
• Wipe the top of every jar
• Twist and tighten every lid on every jar
• Place jars equidistant from one another in a large stainless-steel boiler with at least two inches of boiling water above every jar – Do Not Crowd the Jars!
• Add two cups of white vinegar into the boiling water to eliminate mineral scum on the jars
• Simmer for 25 minutes to seal the jars
• Remove from the boiling water bath and cool the jars – Do Not Crowd the Jars as they cool!
• Clean every jar with a white vinegar solution
• Check that every jar is sealed and clean
• Label
• Pack into the original boxes – 12/box

Mustard has “a way of entertaining the senses” — and reminding the mustard maker that a task worth doing is worth doing well.

We recently read an interview with actor Stanley Tucci that got us thinking. Tucci was talking about the similarities between creative pursuits like acting, directing…and cooking.

“When you’re cooking, you have to have a basic understanding of how to use a knife, what ingredients go together, how to turn the stove on. You need a certain amount of

technique, but you also need imagination. And that’s exactly the same thing for painting, for acting, for directing. You have to have an understanding of the what the rules are and then make everything else up in between.”

We also heard a podcast recently noting that while the popularity of cooking shows on cable TV is at an all-time high, the number of people actually cooking continues to drop. The analogy they made was to sewing; in years past, mothers routinely taught (at least) their daughters to sew. Today it’s a rarely practiced “hobby.”

We think that’s sad. Nowadays, take-out is easy, and, in the post-Covid period, delivery is ubiquitous. To be fair, frozen meals have come a long way from Swanson TV Dinners, but it misses the point that there is more to food than the eating of it. If you think about preparing a meal like you might think about drawing a picture or writing a poem — or (like Tucci) acting a scene with Meryl Streep — you can appreciate the nuance that goes into it. When you’re on the right side of your brain, you can appreciate the smell and texture and color of the food you’re cooking — and appreciate it in a completely different way when you’re serving and eating it.

If you have not already, we hope you’ll take a moment to visit our Recipes page to see what inspiration you might find. Cooking is one of our great pleasures and we hope you’ll join us on the journey.

Photographer Don Brockmeier was gracious to share some of his Nebraksa fall folliage photos with us this month. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

George T. French introduced the classic French’s yellow mustard in 1904 believing Americans would prefer a milder mustard than the darker and spicier ones available to them at the time. It caught on in a big way and soon became the dominant brand in the U.S. — so big that it is generally known as “American mustard” in the rest of the world.

Speaking for myself, I didn’t much care for any mustard as a kid and for many years, even if I did add mustard to a hotdog, anything beyond French’s was a mustard too far. When my tastebuds finally matured, adding spice to my life became a life-changing culinary concept.

As the name implies, honey mustard is a blend of mustard and honey, which typically results in a mustard that’s full of warm spices rounded with sweetness. It’s great in a lot of different contexts, but it really pops when cooking with it. Because of its sugar content, it caramelizes beautifully, and deepens the flavor of whatever it touches.

Along our culinary journey, we’ve discovered easy ways of using mustard to add just a bit of extra spice to our lives. Here are five of our favorites.

Add it to a cheese and charcuterie board. The sweet bite of honey mustard goes so well with cheese — especially classic cheddar and creamy, buttery cheeses like Brie and Camembert, and spicy beer mustard is the perfect accompaniment to your Genoa salami, Italian dry salami, peppered salami, prosciutto or whatever you have.

Spice up chicken, pork or salmon. Do the work of a whole recipe of spices by simply brushing your chicken pork or salmon with honey mustard before and during baking or grilling. That’s the easy way. If you want to look into more complex recipes, check out our web page.

Toss with roasted vegetables. We’re roasting a lot more vegetables these days and we’ve found if we add a dollop of Honey Mustard or Spicy Beer Mustard when we toss it in the olive oil, salt and pepper it lends a pleasing depth of flavor without a bunch of other spices.

Make a fresh vinaigrette. Anybody can pour dressing out of a bottle, but for a fresh, made-from-scratch alternative try a honey mustard vinaigrette. There are a lot of recipes online, but the basics are easy: combine honey mustard with Greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and/or apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. As with a lot of recipes, specific ingredients and amounts vary a little bit, but experimentation is half the fun.

Take it for a dip. One of our favorite sauces for dipping anything from steamed broccoli to chicken tenders is equal amounts of a Buzz Savories Honey Mustard and mayo or plain Greek yogurt. Easy and yummy.

Once you get the habit, you’ll find lots of other ways to add a delicious depth of flavor with Buzz Savories Honey Mustard, Spicy Beer Mustard and artisanal Honey.